The Chennai Six are, clockwise from top left, Nicholas Simpson, 47, of North Yorkshire, John Armstrong, 30, of Wigton, Ray Tindall, 42, of Chester, Billy Irving, 37, from Argyll and Bute, Paul Towers, 54, of Pocklington, and Nick Dunn, 31,

Who are the Chennai Six?

The Chennai Six are Nick Dunn, of Ashington, Northumberland; John Armstrong, of Wigton, Cumbria; Billy Irving, 37, of Oban; Nicholas Simpson, 47, of Catterick, North Yorks; Ray Tindall, 42, of Chester; and Paul Towers, 54, of Pocklington, East Yorks.

The men were held in 2013 after protecting ships from Somali pirates.

A 410,000-name petition for their release had the support of Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Joanna Lumley and around 40 MPs.

Why were they arrested?

They were detained in 2013 after the Indian coastguard accused their vessel, US-owned MV Seaman Guard Ohio, of straying into their waters.

Their gun permits, issued by the UK government, were all in order but a judge jailed them in 2016 for five years.

The Indian High Court, at first, accepted their paperwork was up to scratch and dismissed the case.

“We want to thank everyone in the world who supported us through this really tough time. We are all so grateful that people didn’t lose hope and kept fighting for us. We can never thank them enough.”
Nick, 31, who served in Afghanistan, added: “All I want to do now is go home and see my mum.”

Former Para John Armstrong, 30, smiled and gave a thumbs up as the men left Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai, south eastern India, and were driven away by consular staff.

They were taken to the British Deputy High Commission and later to a four-star hotel in the city.

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